Euphilomedes chupacabra (Ostracoda: Myodocopida: Philomedidae), a new demersal marine species from coastal Puerto Rico with male-biased vespertine swimming activity
A new species of Philomedidae is described: Euphilomedes chupacabra from coastal Puerto Rico. This is the first described species of Euphilomedes from the Western Atlantic, a genus of particular interest for its sexually dimorphic lateral eyes. As E. chupacabra can be easily caught in large numbers and may have a short generation time, it has potential to be used as a laboratory animal to study questions of dimorphic eye development. Males of E. chupacabra are abundant in plankton for a short time; the average time of peak activity was 103.6 minutes after sunset, and the density range at the peak time on different nights was 24 to 862 males/m 3 . Males were preferentially attracted to pier lights. There is evidence that species from all myodocopid families display vespertine (post-sunset) migratory behavior, probably associated with mating. We hypothesize that vespertine planktonic mating is an adaptive behavior that exists in many myodocopids and is either the ancestral state for the group or partially or fully convergent in multiple species.